The Stage

BBC2 announces star-studded autumn schedule

Published Tuesday 26 June 2007 at 13:45 by Matthew Hemley

Anthony Hopkins and Kate Winslet will be interviewed as part of a special season celebrating the UK’s film industry on BBC2.

British Film Forever will also include interviews with Michael Caine, Ewan McGregor and Bend it Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha. Four Weddings and a Funeral writer Richard Curtis will also be featured in the season, which forms part of BBC 2’s autumn schedule.

Other highlights in the schedule, unveiled today, include the drama Capturing Mary with Maggie Smith and David Walliams, written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff.

In terms of comedy, BBC2 has lined up new series of Steve Coogan’s Saxondale and Little Miss Jocelyn, which originally debuted on BBC3. The channel also has a brand new sketch show, called The Peter Serafinowicz Show.

Also in the new schedule, actor Stephen Fry will follow up his frank documentary on living with depression with a programme about HIV.

Called Stephen Fry - HIV and Me, the documentary sees Fry interview other celebrities, including George Michael and Erasure’s Andy Bell, about how HIV has affected their lives.

BBC2’s arts programme Arena has also secured exclusive access to music producer Phil Spector, who is currently on trial for murder. The documentary will transmit when his trial has concluded.